


Incomplete

by Musical_Fandom



Series: Bad End Oneshots [9]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Bad Ending, Gen, General Unease, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Memory Alteration, One Shot, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Psychological Horror, Royal's Bad End
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28738083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musical_Fandom/pseuds/Musical_Fandom
Summary: Something's missing.As Akira sat in LeBlanc with his friends, the thought echoed through his mind. Everyone was there, he knew that, but he still couldn't shake the feeling.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Bad End Oneshots [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2168133
Kudos: 30





	Incomplete

_ Something's missing. _

As Akira sat in LeBlanc with his friends, the thought echoed through his mind. Everyone was there, he knew that, but he still couldn't shake the feeling.

"Senpai, is everything alright?" Akira turned his attention to Kasumi. She was clearly concerned which made Akira feel bad. "You've been zoning out a lot."

"It's nothing." There was no point in worrying everyone over nothing. "I'm just thinking about entrance exams."

Kasumi smiled. "I'm sure Makoto-senpai and Haru-senpai could help you with that! Maybe we could all have a study session!"

The suggestion started rounds of excited chatter around the cafe. Even Morgana seemed interested in the idea despite not going to school. Akira couldn't focus on any of it. All he could do was smile and nod while the emptiness ate away at him.

Akira was good at darts, with the right partner he could even clear 701. The problem was, he couldn't stand to be in Penguin Sniper. The place had never been a problem for him before but now, as he stood there playing darts with Ryuji and Yusuke, that feeling that something was missing came back in full force. Something was just wrong but Akira couldn't place it.

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji had managed a hat trick. He gave Akira a high five which left him feeling even worse. Why did it feel so weird? It was just a high five. "Uh, you feelin' okay man?" 

Akira looked at Ryuji and Yusuke with a sense of dread. He wanted to think of something to say to reassure them. Instead he asked, "Yusuke, do you remember when we met?"

Yusuke seemed confused but nodded anyways. "It was when I asked Ann to model for me." 

"And then what happened?" Akira couldn't help but feel he was missing some important details. Something just seemed wrong.

"What's with all the questions?" Akira couldn't answer Ryuji's question. He didn't know and it was bothering him. Why couldn't he shake this feeling?

Akira shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Morgana, how did we meet?"

Morgana gave a confused smile. "Did you forget or something?"

Yes. It was unsettling. Whenever he tried to think about how he met his friends, he could remember the days clearly even if there was something off about them. For Morgana, there was nothing. Thinking about it, he didn't know _anything_ about Morgana. Not his last name, nothing about his parents, it felt like he should know more about someone who was supposed to be one of his best friends.

"No." He lied.

"Ryuji told me you were asking Yusuke about this the other day." He put a hand on Akira's shoulder. It felt so wrong. He did his best not to pull away. "You've been acting weird lately. Are you sure everything's okay?"

Akira gave a shaky nod. "Yeah, I'm fine."

At school, Akira heard someone mention the Phantom Thieves. Something about the name brought back memories. He knew that the year before, they had caused a stir but he couldn't actually remember any of the details. It bothered him which was what led to him researching it once he got back home to LeBlanc. Using his second hand laptop that he had miraculously repaired last summer, he checked for news articles about the Phantom Thieves. Nothing had any real information. Every article just asked who they were but didn't say what they did. It was infuriating. After over an hour of looking through identical articles, there was one that stood out. Buried amongst the sea of junk was an article about the arrest of a man named Junya Kaneshiro that was connected to the Phantom Thieves. The tone was so much different than the others, it was more cynical and critical. Such a harsh tone seemed weird when everything else around it was so cheerful and optimistic. Closer to the end, the article mentioned a person by the name of Goro Akechi. The author called him the detective prince but it almost seemed ironic. Something about the name seemed so familiar. It was like he knew this person, even if he had no memory of him.

Searching for Goro Akechi yielded no results. All he could find was Kogoro Akechi which made Akira wonder if the author of that article had been using some kind of pseudonym for whoever they were talking about. Researching the detective prince online only brought countless articles about someone called Naoto Shirogane. Akira knew that wasn't the person he was looking for. He looked back at the article where he had found the name. It was all so familiar. 

It was during their study session in LeBlanc when Akira tried to get some answers. "Do you remember the Phantom Thieves?" Akira asked. He looked at his friends who all seemed to have a general sense of what he was talking about.

"Those were the guys from last summer, right?" Futaba looked at Akira. She seemed just as curious as him for a second before the books in front of her drew her attention.

Akira nodded. "I was looking into them the other day."

"I don't mean to sound rude but, why do you bring this up?" Haru gave him a curious look. Suddenly he was doubting himself. Why did he bring it up? What answers did he hope to find? The name Akechi rang out in his mind. It reminded him that he needed to find out what he was missing.

"Have you ever heard of anyone named Goro Akechi?" Akira wasn't sure why he was so nervous. He didn't know why he thought Haru and Futaba would have a bad reaction to the name. Everyone just gave him a confused look instead of hostility like he was expecting. Why did he think things were going to go so wrong? They clearly didn't know this person.

Akira couldn't get the name out of his mind. At night he would lie awake, unable to think of anything but Akechi. Who was he? Akira found himself reading and rereading the single article that mentioned him. The way it talked about him, he was someone famous who was connected with the Phantom Thieves yet nothing had come up about him. 

In the past week, Akira had probably gotten a combined five hours of sleep. Everytime he closed his eyes, an angry boy haunted his dreams. Burning red eyes always glared at him. The boy always yelled at him but Akira couldn't make out the words or the voice. Some part of Akira knew, this was Goro Akechi.

_ Akira sat at a booth with a figure he couldn't make out. Next to him stood Akechi. He was calmly explaining something but Akira couldn't seem to understand the words. All he could understand was the distress he felt at hearing them. A sense of hopelessness and longing overtook him. He was going to lose Akechi. _

_ When the figure left, Akira stood beside the counter with him. There was a painful decision to be made. Akira could feel himself yell at Akechi but he couldn't hear the words he was saying. He felt so frustrated, why couldn't Akechi understand what he was saying? Why didn't he see the gravity of the situation? Akechi asked him a question. Akira hesitated before he answered, feeling resigned. Akechi glared at him. A mixture of betrayal and anger left Akira feeling even worse than before. He said something and turned to leave. Akira tried to reach out but he couldn't move. He watched helplessly as Akechi walked out the door. _

"Akira?" Akira opened his eyes and saw Ann looking down at him. He lifted his head from his desk where he had apparently fallen asleep. "Do you need to go to the nurse or something? You slept through lunch."

"Why didn't Morgana wake me up?" He mumbled. It took his mind a second to catch up. Why would Morgana be there to wake him up?

Ann laughed. "Weird dream?" Akira just nodded.

Akira felt like he was losing his mind. Everything seemed so wrong all the time. Seeing Morgana was unsettling for some reason. It was like he shouldn't be there. More than a few times he had slipped up when addressing Kasumi, he just barely managed to stop himself from calling her Sumire. No one else seemed to notice anything. They all just went on as normal while Akira was left to make sense of what was going on by himself. He was beginning to think that maybe the world wasn't the problem.

_ Akira sat at a booth with a figure he could barely make out. He saw the vague outline of a man and the general shape of his face but nothing beyond that. Next to him stood Akechi. He was calmly explaining something but Akira couldn't seem to understand the words. All he could understand was the distress he felt at hearing them. A sense of hopelessness and longing overtook him. He was going to lose Akechi. Again. _

_ When the figure left, Akira stood beside the counter with him. There was a painful decision to be made. "This isn't trivial!" _

_ He felt so frustrated, why couldn't he understand what Akira was saying? Why didn't he see the gravity of the situation? Didn't he know how much he meant to him? Akechi asked him a question.  _

_ Akira hesitated before he answered, "We're taking the deal." _

_ Akechi glared at him. A mixture of betrayal and anger left Akira feeling even worse than before. He said something and turned to leave. Akira reached out but he wasn't fast enough. He watched helplessly as Akechi walked out the door. _

Akira woke up in a panic. He looked around for Akechi before he realized he was alone. Had it always been so lonely in the attic? 

Akira had the same dream every night. Every time, small details became more apparent. The figure he sat across from became more solid, Akechi became more clear. Akira hadn't told anyone about the dream, they would just look at him weird like every other time he said something. 

Akira sat with Makoto in LeBlanc. She had asked him to help her study for her upcoming exams but it quickly became obvious that Akira wouldn't be any help. He was too distracted by everything to really focus.

"Akira, what's been bothering you?" Makoto closed her textbooks and turned her full attention to him.

"It's nothing," He tried to give a comforting smile. "I'm fine."

Makoto looked disappointed. "You know you can tell me anything."

Akira hummed. Of course she would say that. "Do you remember Akechi?" He asked. He wasn't entirely sure why, he already knew her answer.

"Was he an underclassman?"

"Nevermind."

When Akira went to reread the article that night, it was gone.

_ Akira sat across from a man. He could clearly see his face. His sad smile. Akira couldn't think of his name but he knew that they had known each other for a while. _

_ "I had my suspicions." Akechi explained. He was calm despite the fact that he was explaining his own death. Akira could listen to him talk forever. "There was a gap in my memory between Christmas Eve and Shido's ship so naturally I assumed..." _

_ Akira couldn't stop the dread that pooled in his stomach as the man pleaded once again for him to accept this reality. Akira glanced at Akechi. If he didn't take the man's deal, he'd be gone forever. When the man left, Akira stood to meet Akechi's gaze. _

_ He looked at Akira with disapproval. "I hope you're not really going to fold over something as trivial as my life." _

_ Akira couldn't stop the anger. Normally he was so level headed but he couldn't just stand by and watch Akechi die. Not when he just got him back. "This isn't trivial!" Akechi glared at Akira for daring to suggest such a thing. As if he was the unreasonable one for valuing his life. Why didn't he understand the gravity of the situation? Why couldn't he see how much he meant to Akira? _

_ "I won't be held prisoner in a false reality. I'll never accept that." His gaze hardened. "What will you do?" _

_ Akira hesitated. He knew what the right thing to do was. But, he knew what would happen if he did the right thing. "We're taking the deal." Akira knew it was selfish. He knew Akechi would hate him forever. That didn't matter. None of it did as long as everyone got the second chance they deserved. _

_ "You can't be serious!" Disgust and pain were clear on his face. A second of silence passed before it melted into a quite seething rage. "Fine. I have your answer. The deal's off." With that, Akechi turned to leave. Akira tried to reach out to stop him but Akechi was already at the door. He watched helplessly as Akechi walked out the door. _

Akira felt awful when he woke up. He couldn't stop thinking about the look Akechi gave him when he left.

The memories came back slowly. Soon, he understood why Morgana made him feel so uncomfortable. Not that it eased the feelings at all. He couldn't bring himself to look at Sumire. She had been so determined to face her problems only for Akira to decide that having Akechi around was more important. Even then, Akechi wasn't even there which begged the question. Where was he? That man had been so insistent that they could both be happy in this reality, yet Akechi was nowhere to be found. He felt like such an idiot. Of course it had been a lie.

_ Akira sat in LeBlanc with the same man from before. This time however, was different. There was no Akechi that threatened to leave him yet again. It was just the two of them. _

_ The atmosphere was calming. It let him forget about the newfound guilt that made itself at home in his heart. Out of the corner of his eye Akira could see tentacles, or maybe they were arms. He wasn't quite sure. For some reason they didn't bother him. _

_ "Are you feeling comfortable Kurusu-kun?" All he could do was nod. The man gave a bright smile. "Well that's good. Reaching out has been... difficult the past few days but now that I'm here, I can help." _

_ Akira just stared at the man. So many emotions flared only to be swiftly suppressed by whatever this man was doing. It left him feeling numb and confused.  _

_ The man's smile fell. "It seems like I failed again... But don't worry! This time I'll get it right!" _

_ "Again?" He could barely process the words.  _

_ The man paused for a second. He focused on Akira before a realization hit. "Oh! You must still have gaps in your memory! Allow me to fix that." _

_ Everything came back at once. If not for the effect Azathoth had on him, right now, he would have been overwhelmed from the guilt of it all. Memories flashed through his mind. Akechi, betrayed and angry but unable to do anything. Him lashing out at Akira only to be forced into a more subdued state. Both of them living false lives only for everything to come crashing down around them. Akira's desperate pleas to stop his suffering. Crushing emptiness in the days that followed. Regret and doubt about every decision. Akira looked at Maruki who had a serious look on his face. _

_ "It seems like no matter what I do, you can't let yourself be happy. Your guilt over Akechi-kun seems to be holding you back. Even now, but that really is my fault. I wasn't as thorough as I should have been." _

_ "This was a mistake." He should have never made the deal. _

_ "Don't say that! I may not have gotten your reality to be just right yet but look at your friends!" Sumire came to mind. He had betrayed everyone. "But the question is, how do we proceed from here? I could bring Akechi-kun back but then we'd likely have a repeat of last time. Although, this time wasn't much better..." He trailed off.  _

_ "I can't do that to him again." _

_ "But you do want him here. I know that's still your wish." Akira didn't respond. Maruki smiled at him. It was probably supposed to be comforting but it only made him feel worse. "I'll fix all this. You don't need to worry, alright?" _

Akira woke up feeling groggy and confused. The dream from before was already fading from his mind. As he looked around it felt like his mind was recalibrating itself. Everything seemed wrong until something seemed to click. Everything was fine.

_ Something's wrong. _

The thought echoed in Akira's mind as he sat with Akechi. Akira couldn't shake the feeling. As the boy in front of him gave an enthusiastic lecture about whatever came to mind, Akira couldn't stop looking at him. His eyes looked... wrong. Almost like they were a shade too bright, it made him look almost _unreal_.

Akira pushed down the feelings of unease. He tried to silence any lingering doubts in his mind. There was no reason to panic. _Everything was fine._


End file.
